Deutsche Demokratische Republik

C.T.O.s are the reason I can not really get serious about the Eastern Bloc countries....i do use C.T.O.s in my Scott International albums for East Germany,Hungary,Czechoslovakia,Russia,Bulgaria and Romania but those pages are usually sparsely filled as compared to the rest of Europe !

I happened to find this cover tonight, while organizing. It was left in a bound stockbook I purchased some time ago.

So just how rare are DDR covers?

Phil



I think that's why many collectors shun DDR. While I don't have a big issue with CTOs like some collectors do, I took it as a challenge to find MNH. In the process of completing my collection, I got hooked on some of the more complicated issues. Some variations only exist as CTOs. For me, it's an interesting country.

Dan

Brian

I don't think DDR covers are particularly rare but collecting on cover is one way to side-step the CTO issue.

The '09 Michel lists your cover as 12 EUR. The toning/stain would obviously lower the value.

Dan

Well, I collect DDR and alot of the Eastern Bloc countries. If I remember correctly, alot of the "sand dunes" (Ajman, Abu Dhabi,
Qatar etc.) were also CTO's, yet people these days seem interested in them!

Dan, a member of my stamp club once showed me an album of DDR...with all of the cancels from one city...talk about a specialized collection..the city started with a B ..the name will come to me !

Don't I wish this wasn't CTO

Phil

See how much fun you can have with DDR?

Two of the most common postmarks beginning with a "B" on DDR stamps are, of course, Berlin, and Bischofswerda.

Dan

Baba

Interest in CTOs can vary. Not all collectors are biased against CTOs. For example, this is from a Linn's article Sept, 6. 2010 "Collecting Preferences of Chinese and American Collectors":

"Unlike their American counterparts, Chinese collectors prefer stamps that have been cancelled to order (cancelled without doing postal duty) to postally used stamps. … The hierarchy of collecting preferences in China runs CTO full gum, never hinged, CTO full gum hinged, CTO no gum, with postally used dead last."

Dan

Dan, you also forgot Bautzen. I had a friend who was put in prison there for being part of a resistance movement in the mid
1980s. Living in the East, you see and hear alot of stories like that. It was strange. I was teaching courses for the arbeitsamt
and I had alot of "cream of the crop" people from the former DDR government... including a guy who was a member of the ddr-cuba trade
committee (he spoke no spanish), 2 former borderguards (we had some interesting discussions), computer programmers, career ddr army NCO's and
officers as well!

Sorry guys, when I am wrong I own up to it..the city did not start with a B, it started with a J all postmarks had Jena on them !!

We saw a great movie about East Germany..."The Lives of Others" about a STASI agent who finally gets religion after screwing up innocent peoples lives !!

That was an excellent movie. I would also recommend "Good Bye Lenin", and "NVA" if you can find those with English subtitles.
I liked "The Lives of Others" because it wasn't about the "ostalgie" movement and didn't try to sentimentalize the DDR.

I don't know why Hollywood has to spend Billions on a film when other countries can tell a good story for pocketchange !! Do I really care if Brad Pitt or Angelina is in the movie ? Plus countries like Australia,Canada and the Scandenavian countries make movies that give work to lesser known actors.like Mel Gibson !

I dn't think i've seen a recent movie in the cinema in years. I prefer the classics, foreign films, and documentaries.
THen again, here in Oman the copywrite folks haven't cracked down on people downloading movies yet, so I have acquired quite a collection
as well.